An Impotent God?: Canada’s Constitutional Preamble

The video features constitutional lawyer, author, professor, and former Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidate Deborah Coyne, and Justin Trottier, Producer and Host of Think Again! TV as they discuss the question

How did God find its way into the Preamble to the Canadian Constitution — and what can be done about it?

Coyne was heavily involved in debates surrounding the proposed Constitutional amendments during the 1980s and 1990s. From 1989 to 1991 Coyne was constitutional advisor to Newfoundland Premier Clyde Wells.

The video covers the background to the preamble, the context in which it came about, its jurisprudential force, and how any reform to the preamble — such as its secularization to remove invocation of God — might be approached.

The video ends by reminding viewers of Canada’s upcoming 150th anniversary in 2017 and calling you to join us in developing a new preamble for Canada’s sesquicentennial.

Please tweet your thoughts for a new Preamble to the Canadian Constitution to @cficanada using the hashtag #newpreamble.